Grading Goodyear: So far, so good

How can you tell Goodyear is producing a better tire for NASCAR in 2009? You haven’t heard the tire company’s name mentioned once that I can remember in a post-race interview.

There was really nowhere to go but up for Goodyear after last year’s dismal performance in producing a tire that could keep pace with the new Car of Tomorrow. This car had been in development for 2-3 years so there really was no reason for the tires not being ready to run when the COT went into full-time use in 2008.

There were a lot of excuses and blame passed around, but it was the fans and the sport in general which suffered the most. NASCAR stood by Goodyear, but privately I wouldn’t be surprised if someone at the tire company wasn’t told to fix the problem or else.

Through seven races this season there have been a few instances where tires have failed, causing accidents and/or yellow flags – but nothing that has affected the outcome of a race. And, there’s always a chance debris caused the failures, not the fault of the tires. I understand Goodyear has been doing a lot of testing so far this year and that’s being credited with the turnaround.

I guess most people will wait until the Indianapolis race July 26 before passing judgement. That was where things hit rock bottom last year. But, this season, it’s so far so good, which is good for everybody.